John S. Preston
|died= |placeofbirth= Abingdon, Virginia |placeofdeath= Columbia, South Carolina |placeofburial= Trinity Cathedral Cemetery, Columbia, South Carolina |placeofburial_label= Place of burial |image= |caption= |nickname= |allegiance= United States of America Confederate States of America |branch= Confederate States Army |serviceyears= 1863–1865 |rank= Brigadier General |commands= Bureau of Conscription |unit= |battles= American Civil War |awards= |laterwork=Attorney, politician, planter |portrayedby= }} John Smith Preston (April 20, 1809 – May 1, 1881) was a wealthy planter, soldier, and attorney who became prominent in South Carolina politics in the 19th century. An ardent secessionist, he was the state's delegate dispatched to help convince the Virginia Secession Convention to join South Carolina in seceding from the antebellum Union in the months prior to the start of the American Civil War.Preston's address to the Virginia secession convention Biography Preston was born at "Salt Works," a sprawling estate owned by a prominent military family near Abingdon, Virginia. He was a son of General Francis Preston and Sarah Buchanan (Campbell) Preston. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 1824, and then studied law at the University of Virginia and Harvard College. He passed his bar exam and established a practice in Abingdon. On April 28, 1830, he married Caroline Hampton, a daughter of South Carolina's wealthiest planter, Wade Hampton. They eventually had eight children.Preston genealogy Preston took up residence in Columbia, South Carolina, and established a legal practice there. He later invested heavily in a sugar plantation near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which prospered and gained him substantial wealth.Columbia Encyclopedia An strong supporter of states' rights, Preston joined the Democratic Party and was elected to the South Carolina State Senate for several successive terms, serving from 1848 until 1856. He was a delegate from South Carolina to 1860 Democratic National Convention.Political Graveyard During the early part of the Civil War, Preston served as an aide to General P.G.T. Beauregard. He later accepted a commission as an officer in the Confederate Army and headed the bureau of conscription in Richmond. In 1864 he was promoted to brigadier general.Civil War Interactive His fashionable mansion, the Hampton-Preston House, was seized by the Union Army during the 1865 occupation of Columbia and used as the headquarters of Maj. Gen. John A. Logan. After the war, Preston traveled to England, not returning to the United States until 1868. He remained a strong defender of the Confederacy until the end of his life. Preston died in Columbia on May 1, 1881. Interment was at the Trinity Cathedral Cemetery in Columbia. See also *List of American Civil War generals References * Preston, John S., [http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/prestonj/prestonj.html Address of Hon. John S. Preston, Commissioner from South Carolina, to the Convention of Virginia, February 19, 1861], Columbia, South Carolina: R. W. Gibbes, 1861. *Political Graveyard Notes Category:Confederate States Army generals Category:South Carolina State Senators Category:South Carolina Democrats Category:People of South Carolina in the American Civil War Category:People from Washington County, Virginia Category:People from Columbia, South Carolina Category:Hampden-Sydney College alumni Category:University of Virginia alumni Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Hampton family Category:1809 births Category:1881 deaths Category:American planters